Better isn’t always best

In a column I wrote for Sailing World in 2014 (below), I shared thoughts on an issue that was emphasized later in my report, The State of the Sport in 2020. So many years later, which direction is the sport moving?

Not every regatta is a championship. I know some of you want it that way, but we need to stop listening to you. The pursuit of excellence has consumed us, and the fun is getting squeezed out.

We’ve refined the perfect race course (W/L), our perfect race officers wait for the perfect wind, and our perfect race crews exhibit perfection. There is nothing wrong with this, except, not every regatta is a championship.

I do applaud this pursuit of perfection. The desire to improve, to make things better, is commendable. This is trickle down from elite events like the Olympics or the America’s Cup. Some of it is trickle up from the highly refined junior racing teams. The problem is that better isn’t always best.

To be fair, most sports are pushing harder and higher. We keep training, tuning, traveling… just trying so hard. We have coaches, hire pro sailors, get sails from scientists – not sailmakers. Every aspect has evolved so far that the choice to not play has become too easy. Hopping on a bullet train is just too damn hard.

I do understand the plight of the top sailors. They are the most active, and likely the most vocal. They want to excel in the big events, so they use the little events to help them prepare for the big events. This has led the little events to have the look and feel of the big events. However, not every regatta is a championship. Or at least, it shouldn’t be.

What makes sailing different as a sport is it’s also a recreation. It’s something we can do for a long time. It can be our social structure. It should be our identity. It’s not something to get burned out on. Sure, there are professionals amid this recreation. There always has been. But it’s mostly made of people who do this for fun. Or shall I say, should be doing it for fun.

I’m painting with a pretty broad brush. There is danger in that. There are plenty of examples that have not gotten consumed by perfection. To share your thoughts, send to [email protected].